Hain: the Liberals demanded that we cut now

Andrew Neil interviews Peter Hain for this week’s BBC Straight Talk. Mastering the obvious, Hain argues that Duffygate cost Labour dear:

‘PH:  The damaging incident of course was the Duffygate incident. AN:  In Rochdale, the old aged pensioner? PH:  In Rochdale, and that had a palpable effect.  I think we were just beginning to get a bit of traction – not necessarily to win but possibly to be the biggest party in the election – and that was a real hammer blow, and everybody knew it. AN:  You really think that affected the public’s perception of the then Prime Minister? PH:  I do, because I think people had started, not necessary to warm to Gordon but to recognise him for what he is.  He is a formidable leader and a formidable prime minister, whether they liked him or not, and that sort of called back into everybody’s minds all the things that they had felt negative about him, and as he’s readily conceded, it was a really bad incident for us – and you could feel it, on the doorstep, it came up just at a time when we were beginning to turn the tide, as I say, not to go storming to victory but to be the biggest party, in which case things could have been very different.’